Eggnog Trifle Trouble (Murder in the Mix #28) - Addison Moore Page 0,55

not to because Meg isn’t apprised of our ability to peer over into the other side. “Well, aren’t you the cutest little fat rat.”

Meg shoots Carlotta a look.

“I don’t know, Lot.” My sister shakes her head. “But I’d draw the line at being compared to vermin.”

“So would I,” Kringle chirps as he studies the contents of my bowl. “My goodness”—he howls with delight—“it’s been a rat’s age since I’ve had a decent serving of sewage soup.” Kringle wastes no time in diving on in, and soon my sewage, for lack of a better term, begins to dissipate at record pace.

Meg bolts out of her seat. “What in the heck is happening?”

I shove the bowl to my face so fast I accidentally suck Kringle right into my mouth. And worse yet? I can feel him squirming around in there. He’s hairy and covered in cream and—

My entire body bucks with horror as I shoot him out of my mouth and right out the window of the bakery.

And as God as my witness, every single customer runs for the nearest exit, half through the Honey Pot and half through the proper exit.

Meg makes a face. “Good try, but you can’t scare me.” She thumps her empty Mason jar over the counter. “I’ll take another.”

Lily slides one her way. “What was that about, Lottie? If you’re going to puke, please leave. I’ll close up. I always do.”

“Nah.” Carlotta shakes her head. Lot is fine. She just had a case of ghost in the mouth.” She turns to my sister. “That’s what you saw sucking up her sewage soup.”

“Makes sense.” Meg nods into the insanity, otherwise known as the truth.

Carlotta looks like the cat who swallowed the canary. “Guess who else had a close encounter of the ghostly kind? This girl.” She hitches a thumb to her chest just as Keelie strides over.

“What the heck is happening here?” Keelie looks wild-eyed around the empty bakery. “People ran screaming.”

Lily hushes her by way of a finger to her lips. “Carlotta is just about to tell us a ghost story.”

“Ooh.” Keelie pulls a gingerbread man from the platter I set out for Carlotta and Meg when they walked in. “What kind of a ghost?”

Carlotta chuckles. “The tall, dark, and handsome kind that stalks the halls at night.”

I take in a sharp breath at what this might mean just as Evie waltzes into the bakery.

“What’s up?” she calls out as she makes her way over. “Why does everyone look as if they’ve just seen Carlotta’s hermetically sealed boobs?”

“We didn’t,” Keelie says. “A ghost did!”

“A ghost?” Evie hops into the empty seat at the counter next to Carlotta and snatches up a cookie for herself. “Go ahead. I hope you saved the juiciest details for last.”

Meg leans in toward Carlotta. “Spill the deets. Was it that creepy dude from the painting you hung up in the living room?”

“That’s the one.” Carlotta smacks her hand over the table. “He came by the other night and started hitting on me as if he hasn’t seen a woman in years.”

“Well, duh.” Evie rolls her eyes. “He’s dead. He may not have seen one for centuries.”

Carlotta frowns over at her. “Well, his moves weren’t dead. We moaned and groaned so loud we could wake the dead.”

Evie gasps. “That was you? And here I thought that was my parents going at it again. I was ready to stuff my ears with concrete. The next time he comes by, give me a knock on the wall and I’ll put a glass to my ear so I can hear you better.”

“That’s disgusting,” I quickly interject. “And, Carlotta, please tell her you’re kidding. Evie does not want to live in a house with a ghost.”

“Pfft.” Evie averts her eyes. “Are you kidding? My sleepover cred would go through the roof. Of course, Dash is spending the night tonight, first night of Christmas break, but I’d like to invite the whole cheer team, too. And just a heads-up, Mom. They think Dad is hot.” She sticks her finger down her throat to punctuate her disapproval. “I’m just saying, they’re probably going to run around in their bikinis. But don’t worry. Now that we have Carlotta’s ghost man, they’ll do their best to seduce him instead.”

“Good to know.” I glare over at Carlotta a moment. Thanks to her, I’ll have a dozen girls in bikinis all doing their best to impress my husband with their bodies because we both know they’re not going to see any ghosts. Those